The total number of Blue Nile refugees who have fled recent clashes between the Sudanese Armed forces and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has reached at 2,000.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Hashim Aurti El Dhou, the SPLM-N Humanitarian Affairs Officer, reported that approximately 2,000 people from the Angasana Hills in the Blue Nile State have passed the South Sudanese border and are living in dire conditions amid the absence of humanitarian organisations.

He noted that they are now coordinating efforts with some humanitarian organisations operating in South Sudan in order to provide shelter and humanitarian assistance to the new Blue Nile refugees.

El Dhou also accused the Sudanese government of violating the “cease-fire agreement” it had declared for the period of two weeks to allow a polio vaccination campaign to take place in November.

"The Sudanese government is dodging and has refused to attend a meeting in Ethiopia concerning the polio vaccination campaign in the rebel-controlled areas in the Blue Nile and South Kordofa, "the humanitarian officer said.

File photo: village near Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile State (Radio Tamazuj)

Related:

UN: Polio vaccination campaign in Sudan has failed (12 November 2013)

Polio vaccination to kick off in Sudanese war-torn South Kordofan and Blue Nile states (2 November 2013)